Charters and other contracts of the realm provide the most important primary records for genealogical research in the landed families in Scotland in the early 13th century. The privilege of being a witness to important royal agreements and documents, was reserved only to bishops, tenants-in-chief (of the monarch) and the nobility. Jack Richard Blair could find only five instances in the time frame of 1204 to 1211 in which de Blair's (de Blare's) were associated with contracts of the realm. These included two charters concerning the town of Irvine in Ayrshire in 1205, one witnessed by two William de Blares (father and son) and the other witnessed by Alexander de Blare and Bryce de Blare. Stephen de Blare was witness on another charter. Some of these de Blares were of the Barony of Blair in Ayrshire. However, Jack Blair's research indicates that Stephen de Blare owned lands in Blair in Gowrie and granted part of these to the Abbey of Coupar Angus Blare about 1190 - 1200, was witness to another charter of Coupar Angus Blare about 1200 and also a charter of Arbroath Abbey in the above mentioned period 1204 - 1211. He identifies an Alexander de Blair who witnessed a charter of Brechin Blare Cathedral before 1214 and who married around that time to Ela daughter to Hugh de Nyden whose lands were close to St.Andrews, Fife. Hugh de Nyden was also associated with charters of Coupar Angus Blare Abbey. Alexander de Blair also received a grant of lands in the Scottish Highlands about 1225 from the Prior of St.Andrews, this perhaps being the lands of Blacklunnan, north of Blairgowrie and at the foot of Mount Blair. The lands of Blacklunnan were held for many generations by the Blairs of Balthayock lairds. It seems probable that there were at least two persons named Alexander de Blair in the early 1200s, one in Ayrshire in the west of Scotland and another strongly associated with the Angus, Perthshire, Fife area in the east of Scotland.